Julian Fellowes’s Belgravia is a new book/audiobook/app series from the creator of Downton Abbey. It is set in the Belgravia quarter of London in 1841 with a prequel set in Brussels in 1815. The lives of two families, the rich, titled Bellasis family and the nouveau riche Trenchards are brought together at the Duchess of Richmond’s ball and the effects are felt down the years. It is available in ebook format, as an audiobook and as an app. I believe a hard copy of the entire story will be released on July 5th. As an aside, isn’t that a gorgeous cover?

What I liked

The serialisation. Fellowes made the decision to release his story in instalments, with one chapter each week in the style of Charles Dickens or Alexandre Dumas. Usually the chapters would end on a cliffhanger to encourage you to come back the following week. I thought it was a really interesting idea, even if I didn’t follow it in practice. Although one chapter hit my Audible download queue as regularly as clockwork each Thursday, I actually ended up listening to it in a couple of marathon sessions. As with most Audible pre-orders it hit my queue at 4am – not a time I’m likely to be sitting down to listen or read. Perhaps if each instalment were released at 8pm on a Sunday evening I’d have been more inclined to set time aside for it. I can’t comment on when the app downloads were released. Still it was a good idea, although perhaps not one that fits in well with today’s Netflix binging.

The narration. Belgravia is narrated by British treasure Juliet Stevenson who does an excellent job. She provides very appropriate voices for the gentry, the professional classes and the servants.

The app concept. I liked the idea of the app which contained both the text and audio formats. The fact that the app includes background information on the events of the episode in question and should also update the map and family trees as the story progresses is excellent. However, in practice it was rather a failure from my perspective. If you purchased the content anywhere other than on the app, you were locked out of the additional content. I was rather irritated that I paid $1.99 for each Audible audio only episode and each episode on the app costs the same and gives the text, audio and background information. A Google search indicated there was no way to link the Audible purchases to the app. I actually ordered the final episode on both Audible and the app to see if that would update the family tree – nope. I’m not certain if it was a marketing issue or a technical issue, but in any case that was poorly thought out.

The social history. I always loved Downton Abbey, seeing how the upper classes and their servants lived in times gone by and Belgravia is more of the same. What was new to this was the rise of the merchant/professional classes, seen through the Trenchards and Charles Pope, which wasn’t really a focus of Downton. Of course, I am no social historian, so I can’t comment on the accuracy, but it was fascinating.

The soapy plotline. OK, I’m a sucker for this kind of thing. As I mentioned, each episode generally ended on a revelation or twist and it was awesome.

What I didn’t like

Issues with the app. See above

Bland characters. Some, not all, of the characters were so two dimensional as to be uninteresting. As it happens one of these is the character around whom the whole drama turns. This character is so good and… nice it’s boring. The antagonist of the piece is also very much a caricature. I’m surprised he wasn’t described as twirling his moustaches. Fortunately there were enough fully developed and interesting characters to mitigate this.

Belgravia is definitely worth checking out. The first episode is available for free, so you have nothing to lose. I recommend picking it up directly on the app though, I gave Belgravia four stars out of five.

This week I read the wonderful Iron to Iron, the prequel novella to Ryan Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf. Like Wolf by Wolf, it is set in an alternate universe in which the Axis won World War II. It tells the story of Luka Löwe and Adele Wolfe’s burgeoning romance during the 1955 Axis Tour, a relationship which causes much of the tension in Wolf by Wolf. Within a couple of pages I was immediately back in the world created by Graudin and back following the Axis Tour. I listened to Wolf by Wolf in audiobook and although this novella is an ebook only, I still heard it in my mind with Christa Lewis’ voice. It’s not often that I have such a strong link with narration.

For those of you who have not yet read Wolf by Wolf (and why not may I ask?) the Axis Tour is a motorcycle race between Berlin and Tokyo, with the winner receiving an Iron Cross and many accolades. Iron to Iron is told from Luka’s perspective, and we learn more about him. Both he and Adele are strongly motivated to win the Axis Tour, he to prove his worth to his father by winning a second Iron Cross, she to prove that women are equally as competent as men. Of course, having read Wolf by Wolf we know the outcome of this race; Graudin does a wonderful job of keeping the tension high despite that knowledge and without the addition of the whole shapeshifter trying to kill Hitler plot of Wolf.

My only gripe about Iron to Iron – and it is very minor – is that fräulein is written with a lower case f. In German all nouns are capitalised, so this really irritated me. I gave Iron to Iron a well deserved five stars out of five. Now when is Blood for Blood out?!?

This week I also started reading His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. So far I’m really enjoying it.

The Wheel of Osheim by Mark Lawrence is the third and final book in his Red Queen’s War trilogy. It continues the story of Jalan Kendeth as he continues to follow the path upon which fate has set him.

The Red Queen’s War trilogy is set in the same world as, and dovetails with, Lawrence’s earlier Broken Empire trilogy. In some ways that is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because the world in which the trilogies are set is awesome. It’s set in our world in the future, millennia after a nuclear war (the Day of A Thousand Suns) decimated the world and let magic in for the survivors. Some remnants of our world survive, but the current inhabitants have no cultural knowledge or background of them. So plastic shop dummies (I knew those things could survive nuclear attacks) confuse the heck out of them! This leads to one of the funniest moments in Wheel of Osheim involving an “iron pineapple.” You’ll just have to read it to find out what I’m talking about.

It is a blessing because the protagonists of both series, Jorg and Jalan, are on separate quests to discover more about the Builders (aka us) and to prevent the destruction of the world. The knowledge they obtain on their separate journeys adds up to more than the sum of its parts and creates an ever more vivid picture of the Builders and the Day of A Thousand Suns. I suspect I’ll have to reread Broken Empire with the new knowledge I have from Red Queen’s War.

It is also a joy to have cameos from characters from Broken Empire. Particularly this final instalment adds so much more to their stories.

On the negative side, it is made clear that Wheel of Osheim takes place just prior to Emperor of Thorns – Jalan meets Jorg on his way to the Congression which takes place in Emperor. Knowing how Emperor ends is a clear indication of how Wheel doesn’t wrap up. This robs Wheel somewhat of its narrative tension as it’s pretty clear what action Jalan chooses in the end, despite the dramatic chapter break.

I will say thought, it’s not necessary to read Broken Empire to enjoy Red Queen’s War. Indeed, Red Queen’s War is more young adult than Broken Empire which is definitely much, much darker in tone. That is something to bear in mind if you are thinking of checking out Jorg’s story.

So onto Wheel of Osheim.

What I liked

The world. As I mentioned above, I adore the world Lawrence has created. I was completely fascinated by the truth behind the Wheel. The concept that it can make whatever your imagination creates a reality and the trick of Snorri’s stories worked very very well.

The narration. Tim Gerard Reynolds did the honours for Wheel of Time. Jalan as a character can be rather snarky and at times indignant and this came across beautifully in the narration. Many times I smiled or even laughed at Reynolds’ interpretation of Jalan’s indignation. Very well done.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is a young adult supernatural novel entering around Blue Sargent, Gansy and their search for Welsh king Glendower. It is a quartet made up of The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue and The Raven King. it is told from multiple points of view.

I will say that it took me some time to get into this series – at least two attempts of starting the book, and putting it down again. This is despite a kickass opening in which the whole conflict of the series is laid out; it is foretold that Blue will kill her one true love when she kisses him, and Gansy is fated to die within the year. That is the hook to lure you into this series – you can’t help but want to know if these foretellings come true. My initial struggle with this book is partly because, at first glance, the main protagonists are rather unappealing. Gansy comes across as rich, arrogant and entitled. Ronan is snarky and belligerent. Adam is stubborn and independent to a fault and Noah is insipid. It’s only when you get further into the books that the deeper layers of these characters are revealed and your understanding of them deepens. After that I was very happy to continue marathoning the series.

There is a whole arc running through the series with resolutions of plot points in the first book only coming through in the final instalment. Each book has its own theme which feeds into the major series story arc. It is very well tied together if not overly complex. The Raven Boys is all about the setup; introducing the main driving plot of the series, the characters and the world. The Dream Thieves is Ronan’s story and how his ability will aid his friends in their quest. Blue Lily, Lily Blue focusses on Blue and also on deepening the relationships amongst the group and The Raven King ties everything up.

What I liked

The characters. The well written, nuanced and flawed characters and their relationships are the highlight of this series. Stiefvater has developed a wonderful set of characters and the relationships that develop among them are beautiful to read. They truly are stronger because they know each other. The relationships are all unique; Blue acts differently with Noah than she does with Adam, and Gansy has a different relationship to Ronan than to Noah. Additionally, the characters we meet in The Raven Boys are not the same ones we say farewell to in The Raven King – they have been changed by their experiences and each other. That is one thing that always attracts me to a book series. It is mainly for the characters and character development that I continued reading this series. I loved that each member of the group has his or her own strengths and weaknesses and each has a part to play in the story.

The world. I loved the world Stiefvater created. The kind of supernaturalness – ley lines, tarot, spiritualists/mediums – is one that always gets under my skin. It’s superbly well done.

What I didn’t like

Not immediately likeable protagonists. Though I was fascinated by the characters and engaged in their stories, I didn’t love them the way that I have loved some other protagonists. Their stories were wonderful to read, but I’m not exactly sure I’d like to meet up with any of them for coffee. After four books, I certainly felt as if I understood Gansy, Ronan and Adam a great deal better, even if I didn’t necessarily always like them. This weakened the ending somewhat for me.

The Raven Cycle is an excellent series and well worth reading for the well written, nuanced characters and worldbuilding. As a whole I gave the series four stars out of five.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray is a YA sci-fi mystery in which teenager Marguerite Caine must use technology developed by her parents, the Firebird, to chase her father’s murderer across multiple dimensions. She finds out that things aren’t as they first seemed.

I picked this book up partly because of this concept and partly because I’ve enjoyed books (Star Wars) by Claudia Gray. Thanks to Amazon’s Whispersync for Voice I picked up both the Kindle book and the audiobook, narrated by Tavia Gilbert. Most of the time I listened to the audiobook which was amazing.

What I liked

The concept. I found this a really intriguing premise for a novel, moving into alternate dimensions to solve a murder mystery. Gray comes from a sci-fi background and clearly has a firm handle on it. It was a lot of fun when Marguerite jumped into a new dimension trying to work out what situation she was in! I’m not certain that I’d agree with the Orphan Black comparison; the main – only? – similarity is that characters frequently find themselves having to impersonate other people and to think on their feet to work out what’s going on.

The audio narration. Tavia Gilbert did an awesome job of narrating this book. Her accent work was impeccable. There’s a funny scene early on where Marguerite has fun with her current doppelganger’s accent. That came across really well in audio format. My one frustration with this is that often the accent “spoiled” in some way the leaps into new dimensions. From the voices it was often clear where Marguerite had landed long before it was revealed in the text.

The worldbuilding. The fun thing with this concept is that Gray gets to build several worlds; the multiple alternate dimensions into which Marguerite leaps. It would be too spoilery to name them all, but each of them is beautifully developed with supporting characters, rules and challenges for our protagonist. The fact that Gray’s travel system has limitations was particularly well done – as in fantasy, often it’s the limitations in the magic system/technology which can generate the most interesting conflicts for the characters. I loved that the dimensions had varying degrees of technological advancement which made things interesting.

The pacing. Gray keeps the plot moving along fast, with new information and revelations keeping our protagonists – and readers – engaged.

What I didn’t like

The characters. I found Marguerite somewhat bland. The way her loyalty seemed to be so easily won and lost did not sit easily with me, and the revelations of the villains was a little too obvious. The fact that Gray reverted to the trope of “the special”, our protagonist having unique traits which make her the only person capable of foiling the evil plot is rather disappointing.

Despite these flaws, I really loved 1000 Pieces of You and gave it four and a half stars out of five. I will certainly be picking up the sequel soon.

The Trials of Apollo Book One The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan is the start of a new Greek mythology series from middle grade staple Rick Riordan. This new series centres around the god Apollo, who has been stripped of his godly powers by his father, Zeus. Naturally, adventures and shenanigans ensue.

For me this read a little younger than the Heroes of Olympus series, more in line with Percy Jackson. Apollo’s human persona is aged 16, but he spends a lot of time hanging around with 13 year old Meg which naturally makes the feel of the book somewhat younger. Also, there is no emphasis at all on romantic relationships.

What I liked

Riordan’s writing style. After many series including Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Riordan’s light, witty style should be familiar to most readers. If you enjoyed the earlier books, you will certainly enjoy this one. They are very funny. I breezed through The Hidden Oracle in an afternoon. While it is not necessary to have read the earlier series, I would strongly recommend doing so before picking up this latest one. There are many references to characters and events from previous entries that, while not necessary to enjoy the story, are enhanced by knowledge of both of the other Olympian series.

The protagonist. I was amused by Apollo – his attitude and the circumstances he kept finding himself in. In theme it’s very similar to Marvel’s Thor movie in which a god becomes mortal but takes some time to adjust to his new situation. I enjoyed Apollo’s character development and how he changes throughout the course of the adventure. I do have some concerns if that level of character development can be sustained through the other four planned books in the series, but time will tell.

Catchups on our other favourite demigods. In this book we touch base with our heroes from the previous series. It was good to hear how Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo and the others are all getting on with their post Gaea lives.

What I didn’t like

Perhaps because this was aimed at a younger audience, at times it was a little formulaic, especially if you know the previous book. Still, it’s more than made up for by Riordan’s wit and humour.

In summary, if you’ve enjoyed the previous books, you will certainly enjoy The Trials of Apollo. I gave it four stars out of five.

Hello and welcome to another reading roundup. I’ve clearly been on a bit of a social history kick lately – all of the books I’ve read and/or listened to in the last couple of weeks have had social change as a strong theme. Let me tell you about them.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson is a slice-of-life look at an English town in the summer of 1914, just before the First World War. This conflict had a profound impact on British life, especially in terms of the class system and women’s role in society and so this particular period of time about which Simonson writes is a real turning point. The author clearly has a strong knowledge of and interest in social history and it comes across very well in the book.

Add to this wonderful, engaging characters (I’m heavily invested in our protagonist Beatrice Nash and young Snout) and this is a great read. I’m about two thirds of the way through the audiobook and enjoying it very much. Fiona Hardingham is undertaking narration duties and does an excellent job of distinguishing all the characters.

The second social historical audiobook I’m enjoying is Julian Fellowes’ Belgravia. Fellowes is, of course, known for the wonderful Downton Abbey television series, which follows the Crawley family through a period of history that saw major social change in the UK. How accurate it was is a different discussion. Belgravia is set a few years earlier, on the eve of Waterloo, but again it follows a family through a period of social change.

The interesting thing about Belgravia is that is being published in a serial format. There are eleven episodes, each one around one hour long, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. The first four episodes have been published – of which I have listened to one – and the others are following weekly. Each episode costs around $2.50 with a complete book to be published when the series is complete. I enjoyed the first episode and intend to keep following it.

The final book I’d like to talk about is The Translation of Love by Lynne Kutsukake. This is a non-typical choice for me. It tells the story of Aya, a young second generation Japanese Canadian who along with her father at the end of the Second World War after life in an interment camp is forced to choose between moving east of the Rockies or repatriation to Japan. (Not a great period in Canada’s history). She moves to Japan where her path intersects with that of Fumi, a young Japanese girl trying to find her sister and that of Matt Matsumoto, a Japanese American who serves in the office of General MacArthur translating the thousands of letters received by the General from Japanese citizens requesting his aid.

I’m about a third of the way through this and am enjoying it very much. I am unfamiliar with much of Japanese culture, but Kutsukake is doing an excellent job of describing it through the eyes of Canadian born Aya who, raised in Vancouver, is more Canadian than Japanese in outlook. I am also very much appreciating the characters and following their story.

Upcoming books in May

There are three books coming out in May about which I am very excited.

First, we have The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle, by Rick Riordan. This is a new series set in his Percy Jackson Greek/Roman world, but this time there is a twist. His protagonist is the god Apollo himself, who, stripped of his powers by Zeus, must live as a mortal – with Percy and friends’ help of course! I love Rick Riordan’s writing style, humour and world building so this is a no brainer for me. I have pre-ordered it in both Kindle and Audible formats.

The Hidden Oracle is released on May 3rd.

Also on May 3rd we have the release of The Crown, the fifth and final book in Keira Cass’s Selection series. The Selection has always been my guilty pleasure with its soapy mix of The Bachelor(ette) meets Cinderella meets dystopian YA fiction and again this was another no brainer, especially as the previous book left a real cliffhanger ending. I pre-ordered The Crown in Kindle format.

The final book about which I am excited, also being released on May 3rd is A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. This is the second in the Court of Thorns and Roses series. Although I prefer Maas’ Throne of Glass series, I did enjoy a Court of Thorns and Roses and expect to enjoy the sequel. I have pre-ordered A Court of Mist and Fury in Kindle format.

That’s all I have today. Enjoy your reading and perhaps I’ll meet some of you next month at the Book Expo of America!

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is the fourth in the Austen Project of modern retellings of Jane Austen’s novels and attempts to bring her classic Pride and Prejudice into the 21st century. Having read the other three Austen adaptations, I was intrigued to see how Sittenfeld would update the story of Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane and Bingley. From experience I know that Austen adaptations, when done well, can be wonderful. (check out The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube if you don’t believe me.)

I really, really wanted to like this book – I love Jane Austen, and the pre released teaser sample sounded excellent – but no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t sit well with me. In the interests of fairness, given how well known and beloved Pride and Prejudice has become, it was always going to be one of the trickier ones to adapt. Let me talk about what I liked first.

What I liked

The modernisation. Many things in the update worked surprisingly well. The transfer of the action from Hertfordshire to Cincinnati was seamless and gave a very similar flavour of the small town mentality that caused Darcy’s snobbish attitude. The Bennet family’s future being at risk because of the lack of a male heir is not something that would fit well with a modern tale, so Sittenfeld uses a more up to date threat which works in well. Surprisingly the whole reality TV show plotline adapts well and served to enhance both the story and the characters.

The narration. I listened to Eligible in audiobook format. Narration duties were undertaken by Cassandra Campbell who did a great job of narrating the tales of the Bennet sisters. I chose the book in audiobook format because of the sneak peek narration.

What I didn’t like

The chapter break up. The audiobook is 13 hours and 21 minutes long, so approximately 800 minutes. This is relatively short in terms of audiobooks. I believe the hard copy comes in at around 500 pages. There are over 180 chapters in the book. Let me say that again. One hundred and eighty chapters. This means that, on average, there is a new chapter roughly every four minutes. Some chapters last less than 40 seconds. Especially in the audiobook I found it extremely distracting and detrimental to my engagement in the story to have it broken up so frequently.

Character development. My biggest issue with Eligible was that I didn’t feel Sittenfeld accurately portrayed – or even at times understood – Austen’s wonderful characters and/or their journeys. It is fair to say that, perhaps her interpretation of Elizabeth, Jane and Lydia just isn’t the same as mine; however I would argue that they also differ from Austen’s.

To take Lydia first; while both Austen’s and Sittenfeld’s youngest Bennet sister is young, immature and, yes, does occasionally push the boundaries of propriety I have never perceived her as being downright crude and vulgar as she comes across in Eligible. Admittedly, I will never be able to read P&P with an Austen era mentality, so I could be wrong here. Secondly, Lydia’s story arc in Austen’s original has her family (and ultimately Darcy) having to step in to protect her from the consequences of an imprudent and ill considered decision. While it is not an easy task to come up with a modern storyline that has the same shock value and social repercussions that nineteeth century Lydia’s running off alone with a man would have, and I can see what Sittenfeld was trying to do, I personally disagree with her choice. At that point in the story I found myself thinking “What imprudent decision? What consequences?” Sittenfeld even has her Lydia try to sit down with her parents and discuss her decision before taking action and the impression I was left with was that it was a far more balanced and thought out decision than Austen’s Lydia would have made.

Jane’s character arc, too, wasn’t always given the service it should have. In my mind, in the original, Jane’s character flaw was that she wasn’t confident enough to express her feelings adequately to Bingley. This allowed Darcy to interfere in the relationship believing that she was not very strongly attached to Bingley. This is a flaw which she must overcome to achieve her happy ending. In Sittenfeld’s reworking, it’s Jane’s circumstances which force her to be more reserved about expressing her feelings, therefore no flaw, no character development.

Finally, we come to Elizabeth, the second oldest Bennet sister. My impression of Elizabeth from Austen’s original was that she is an intelligent, strong willed woman, who has a strong sense of self worth and who is not prepared to compromise that. Sittenfeld’s description of her Liz’s relationship with Jasper does not show a woman with a strong sense of self worth. Perhaps that’s Eligible Liz’s character arc, to regain that sense of self, but it’s not the arc of Austen’s character, and as such I didn’t feel it should have been part of the story, especially as Austen’s Elizabeth already has a strong character development arc in overcoming her prejudice of Darcy.

While there were some excellently written parts of Eligible, for me, it is the weakest of the Austen project books in terms of bringing Austen’s characters to life in a modern setting. I gave Eligible only 1.5 stars out of five.

If you want to see a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice done well, I recommend you rather take a look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon is the fourth in the time travelling historical fiction series following our protagonists Claire and Jamie Fraser as they attempt to start a new life in the American Colonies.

Weighing in at nearly 900 pages, or 44 hrs and 54 mins of audiobook, this is a real behemoth of a book. It’s also the book on my shelf that’s taken me the longest to read. GoodReads tells me that I finished the previous book in the series, Voyager, back in April 2015, and I started Drums of Autumn around that time. This means that Drums of Autumn has taken me almost a year to finish.

I read it in chunks. I would read a large section – usually when the Outlander TV series piqued my interest again – and then struggle to continue and put it aside for other books. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it; I simply struggled to maintain my interest to read 800+ pages over a short period.

What I liked

The characters. I love the characters in the book, particularly Claire and Jamie and their unconventional romance. Gabaldon has said that she wanted to show a mature relationship – one in which the partners have been together for many years – and she certainly achieves that with Claire and Jamie. Brianna and Roger also take centre stage in this book and that was wonderful to read.

The Jamie/Brianna relationship. For me, this was one of the highlights of the book. I adored the interactions between Jamie and his daughter. They are both stubborn Frasers, with differing views of morality due to their different upbringings in different centuries and both have red headed tempers. it was clear that things were never going to go smoothly for them. I loved that Claire was stuck in the middle and was uncertain if she should physically separate them or let them fight it out. What was particularly beautifully written was the way in which Jamie’s and Brianna’s past experiences created a real bond and connection between them.

What I didn’t like

Repetition. I must admit, earlier parts of the book are rather foggy in my memory having been read almost a year ago, but I seem to remember there was a distinct pattern of Jamie and/or Claire getting into some kind of situation in which they are in mortal danger and then they are rescued. Rinse and repeat. Given that this is the fourth in a (likely) ten book series, there was absolutely no dramatic tension at all. There was no way either of our two main protagonists was not going to survive. I imagine this was intended to provide colour to show how dangerous their environment was, and perhaps to develop their relationship, but I must admit I found it a little tedious after a while.

All in all I really enjoyed Drums of Autumn and gave it four stars out of five.

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson is the first in a young adult historical fantasy following the story of Leah Westfall, a young woman from Georgia with the gift of sensing gold. Circumstances lead her to seek her fortune in California as part of the 1849 gold rush. This first book deals with Leah’s departure from Georgia and the first part of her journey west.

I really enjoyed this book. I was highly invested in Leah’s story and loved the depiction of the trek across the country. Upon finishing it I immediately preordered book two, entitled Like a River Glorious, due out in September 2016. And can I just say, isn’t that a gorgeous cover?

What I liked

The protagonist. I really enjoyed reading from Leah’s perspective. She is a young woman with a good heart, and a strong mind. It’s clear though the toll her secrets are taking on her. I liked that Leah does sometimes does make mistakes and errors in judgement – it keeps her real. The supporting characters are also very engaging and in many cases have significant character development.

The historical detail. I admit that this is a period of American history about which I am not too familiar. Carson was able to evoke a wonderfully vivid atmosphere of what life would have been like travelling West during the Gold Rush. From the author’s notes at the end I have the strong impression that Carson did a significant amount of research when writing this book.

The fantastical. While there is some fantasy in Walk on Earth a Stranger, it is very subtle and well integrated into the story. The focus is very much more on historical fiction than fantasy though.

The tropes. This was a mixed like/didn’t like. Carson used so many tropes in this book it did get a little obvious at times. We had the girl dressing up as a boy trope, the wicked uncle trope, the best friend as potential love interest trope, the refusal of the Call to Adventure until the Inciting Incident trope. However, Carson makes them work very, very well together and has created a wonderfully cohesive story.

What I didn’t like

The love triangle. This is a young adult book, so a love triangle is unavoidable. While I did think that, at least, the third member of the triangle was convincingly written I really didn’t care for this aspect of the book.